I knew Ohio has always been bad about speed traps, but you never really realize how bad until you run the numbers. We drove 791 miles each way through 4 states (IN, OH, PA and NJ). Here's the numbers of State Troopers in sight:
Indiana: 2 (1 on the way out changing a flat tire, 1 on the way back).
Ohio: 28 (21 on the way out, 11 actively writing tickets, 7 on the way back with 6 writing tickets).
Pennsylvania: 3 (2 on the way out, 1 on the way back. None writing tickets)
New Jersey: 2 (both on the way out, traveling together. Likely a coffee run)
That means Ohio had 4 times as many troopers out writing tickets than all 3 other states we drove in COMBINED. 600+ miles of PA and 2 days of driving in NJ netted 5 troopers total. That didn't even meet the minimum number of ticket writers OH had on the road. Absolutely blows my mind. Didn't do much to curb the speeders though. Even with 28 troopers on the roadway, people were running 80+mph. But that was true in all the states we were in.
One big difference with OHIO.... They are not allowed to "hide". They must be visable (I think from both directions of travel).
There is a TON of cops in Ohio. I have more tickets from ohio than I do with all other states combined (I live in PA).
Rob R.
In reply to wvumtnbkr:
I'm usually pretty vigilante about watching for cops. Not because I'm speeding that bad (I stay under 10 over 95% of the time unless traffic is REALLY flying) but just because. I always have.
9, youre fine. 10, youre mine. Always seems to work for me. Also, no EPA/Smog/whatever-you-call-it to hassle with...my car can burn all the oil I want, cuz 'merkuh. They gotta make up all that lost revenue somehow: see top post.
If you were on I-75 at all, that would be why you saw all the cops...drug runners love 75...cuz 'merkuh
Sincerely,
Ohio resident
I-70 to 270, to 71 to 76 and finally 80.
Indiana doesn't have any smog or inspections either... and we don't have near the same saturation level.
In reply to Bobzilla:
You drove right by my house and didn't even stop to say "Hi". I sad. 
I don't know that I would call it a speed trap per say. Yes the HP is out and about but you can see them almost as easily as they can see you.
bravenrace wrote:
In reply to Bobzilla:
You drove right by my house and didn't even stop to say "Hi". I sad.
dude, I drove past a LOT of people's houses and didn't stop by! I love my little Kia but spending more than 12 hours in that seat is a bit extreme at my age!
They love writing tickets here. No doubt about that.
In reply to Bobzilla:
Well there you go, you should have stopped by for a rest. Did you drive by Summit Racing when on 76?
Yep. Love that place. I wanted to stop and browse but we were trying to get home at a reasonable hour and we were making killer time.
The fun one is when you cross the Ohio/Michigan border on I75 north and everybody floors it up to 80 or so.
I've only gone deep into Ohio a couple times, but I seem to recall it being worse (like 60mph limit the whole way and cops every 5 miles) a couple years ago.
In reply to Bobzilla:
I live on the same road, about 1 mile from Summit. See what you missed? My friendly, never annoying, always endearing, never offending self!
In reply to Kenny_McCormic:
Speed limit on most of Ohio interstates is 70mph now. Pretty easy to see the cops on the flat ass roads!
bravenrace wrote:
In reply to Bobzilla:
I live on the same road, about 1 mile from Summit. See what you missed? My friendly, never annoying, always endearing, never offending self!
The problem is we would have started drinking beer, discussing the finer points of life and I would have never made it home.
wvumtnbkr wrote:
In reply to Kenny_McCormic:
Speed limit on most of Ohio interstates is 70mph now. Pretty easy to see the cops on the flat ass roads!
Except in cities or towns, that's 65, or 60 or 55 or 50. Or large intersections. That is 65 or 60 or 55. Or construction. That's either 55 or 45. So, yeah, other than the constant construction, cities or intersections it's all 70mph. All 15 miles of it!
Bobzilla wrote:
bravenrace wrote:
In reply to Bobzilla:
I live on the same road, about 1 mile from Summit. See what you missed? My friendly, never annoying, always endearing, never offending self!
The problem is we would have started drinking beer, discussing the finer points of life and I would have never made it home.
That's a problem? Not for me.
wvumtnbkr wrote:
One big difference with OHIO.... They are not allowed to "hide". They must be visable (I think from both directions of travel).
And they must be in a marked car. And they have to have their lights on at night.
Basically, speeding tickets on an Ohio Interstate are a tax on inattentiveness.
(Some Brecksville guys (on I-77 between the Turnpike and I-480) can and do "hide" behind bushes and overpasses, even though they shouldn't.)
4cylndrfury wrote:
9, youre fine. 10, youre mine. Always seems to work for me. Also, no EPA/Smog/whatever-you-call-it to hassle with...
That's because you live in a county that doesn't have a problem with meeting Federal clean-air standards.
Cuyahoga and surrounding counties do very much indeed have emissions testing. IIRC it's 11 out of the 88 counties that have the E-Check program. We also have a lot of jobs and industry and money, which I'll take over not having to worry about emissions. All the good cars are over 25 years old anyway so who cares?
Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote:
I don't know that I would call it a speed trap per say. Yes the HP is out and about but you can see them almost as easily as they can see you.
I tell you what, people can crab about the patrol officers all they'd like, but both times I had tire issues in the past how many years, I was on the side of the road for maybe five minutes before a state patrol officer pulled up behind me and offered assistance. One of the times was at night, and he held a flashlight while I dealt with the issue and we talked cars. Apparently he autocrossed a WRX in whatever SCCA region was near his home in Toledo.
Bobzilla wrote:
wvumtnbkr wrote:
In reply to Kenny_McCormic:
Speed limit on most of Ohio interstates is 70mph now. Pretty easy to see the cops on the flat ass roads!
Except in cities or towns, that's 65, or 60 or 55 or 50. Or large intersections. That is 65 or 60 or 55. Or construction. That's either 55 or 45. So, yeah, other than the constant construction, cities or intersections it's all 70mph. All 15 miles of it!
I hated how the rural roads in Ohio were 55, then suddenly drop to 35 or 25 when you approach a BFE town but the speed limit sign is conveniently overgrown by some tree or bush that the police officer is also hiding behind.
I was working a teen driving clinic last summer with a Michigan State Police officer. We were chatting it up and I asked if he had any idea why Ohio (where I had lived for 15 years) had troopers out the wazoo radaring, but I rarely that in Michigan. He said it was because in Michigan the state police are not just traffic enforcement like the Ohio Highway patrol. He said they had more important things to do than hand out speeding tickets. I dont know if it was 100% true but it made me laugh.
Have you ever traveled through Virginia?
